Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States Tuesday in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border. Those handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, a leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with notorious…
U.S. prosecutors said Tuesday they won’t seek the death penalty in their cases against Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Rafael Caro Quintero, the drug lord charged with orchestrating the 1985 killing of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. Caro Quintero, 72, and Zambada, 75, have pleaded not guilty to an array of drug trafficking…
U.S. drug enforcement agents seized more than $10 million in cryptocurrency linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel during raids that also netted massive quantities of fentanyl and other drugs, officials said Tuesday. The Sinaloa cartel is one of six Mexican drug trafficking groups that President Trump has designated as global “terrorist” organizations. The cryptocurrency seizure in…
Facing the threat of tariffs from President Trump after he took office, Mexico bent over backward to comply with his demands. Almost immediately, the government moved to secure its northern border, severely stanching migration to the United States. Then it hunted cartel leaders in a dangerous fentanyl stronghold. And just last week, in a once-in-a-generation…
Mexico braced for the worst when President Trump threatened steep tariffs on its exports. But as a deadline looms, Mexico’s leaders hope they have found a formula for staving off tariffs by moving decisively on several fronts to appease Mr. Trump. Focusing on Mr. Trump’s complaints over migration and illicit drugs, President Claudia Sheinbaum is…
One cartel leader says he’s trying to figure out how to protect his family in case the American military strikes inside Mexico. Another says he’s already gone into hiding, rarely leaving his home. Two young men who produce fentanyl for the cartel say they have shut down all their drug labs. A barrage of arrests,…
The Mexican government on Thursday began sending to the United States nearly 30 top cartel operatives wanted by the American authorities, including one notorious drug lord that U.S. officials had been seeking to bring to justice for 40 years, according to a statement by the Mexican government. The handover of so many significant cartel figures…
The Trump administration plans to designate more than a half-dozen criminal groups with roots in Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations, said five U.S. officials with knowledge of the imminent action. The move, to be carried out by the State Department, follows an executive order President Trump signed on Jan. 20 calling for a crackdown…